Teen Titans Go! To the Movies
| producer = | writer = | based on = Characters from DC | starring = | music = Jared Faber | editing = Nick Kenway | studio = Warner Bros. Animation DC Entertainmenthttps://variety.com/2018/film/reviews/teen-titans-go-to-the-movies-review-1202879529/ | distributor = Warner Bros. Pictures | released = | runtime = 88 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = $10 million | gross = $52 million }} Teen Titans Go! To the Movies is a 2018 American animated superhero comedy film based on the television series Teen Titans Go!, which is adapted from the DC Comics superhero team of the same name. This film is written and produced by series developers Michael Jelenic and Aaron Horvath, and directed by series producer Peter Rida Michail and Horvath. The events of the film take place during the fifth season of Teen Titans Go! The film features the voices of Greg Cipes, Scott Menville, Khary Payton, Tara Strong and Hynden Walch reprising their respective roles from the series, while Will Arnett (who also produced the film) and Kristen Bell join the cast. It was theatrically released in the United States and Canada on July 27, 2018, by Warner Bros. The film was a box office success, and has grossed over $52 million worldwide against a $10 million budget and received generally positive reviews, with praise toward the cast and humor. Plot In Jump City, the Teen Titans arrive to stop the Balloon Man. When he cannot figure out who they are, the Teen Titans jump into a rap song to introduce themselves and become distracted, forcing the Justice League to intervene. They criticize the Titans for being childish, not taking anything seriously, and bring up the fact that they do not have a movie of their own to prove their legitimacy. While at the premiere of Batman Again after Raven sent the Challengers of the Unknown to another dimension, Robin assumes that there will be a movie about him, and is laughed out by the audience when he finds out there won't be. At the rest of the team's suggestion, Robin resolves that in order to get a movie made about him and the Titans, they need an arch-nemesis. Nearby, Slade breaks into S.T.A.R. Labs to steal a crystal. The Titans arrive and attempt to stop him, but he swiftly defeats and insults them. The next day, Beast Boy, Starfire, Cyborg and Raven create a movie to cheer up Robin, but he turns it off prematurely declaring that they will go to Hollywood to have a movie made about them. Upon arriving at Warner Brothers Studios, they encounter director Jade Wilson, who is responsible for all the superhero movies being made. She turns down the Titans' request to be in a movie, explaining that the only way she would make one about them is if they were the only superheroes in the world. The Titans take her words literally by going back in time to prevent the origins of the other superheroes, but only end up ruining the present, forcing them to go and undo their blunder. Slade next arrives at Wayne Tech to infuse the crystal's power and the Titans arrive to stop him, this time putting up an actual fight. They secure the crystal, but Slade escapes, resolving to split Robin from his teammates. The next day, Jade invites the Titans back to Hollywood and announces that she will make a movie about them due to their fight with Slade. While Robin is given a tour of the premises, Raven, Beast Boy, Starfire and Cyborg venture out and cause mischief. They find a doomsday device that is heavily guarded by the heroes and try to destroy it, but Jade arrives and reveals that D.O.O.M.S.D.A.Y. is seemingly an acronym for a new streaming service for the new movie she is making. She resolves to drop the rest of the Titans from the film and make it solely about Robin, which he happily accepts, much to the consternation of his team, who wish him luck. Robin finishes making the movie, but during a scene where he interacts with a prop version of the Titan Tower door panel, a light falls and knocks him out. He awakens and finishes the scene where Jade reveals that they are now in the actual tower, and that she is actually Slade himself in disguise. He gets the crystal back, restrains Robin, and tells Robin that his making so many superhero movies was a plan to keep the heroes busy while he invaded their cities to build his D.O.O.M.S.D.A.Y. device to take over the world. Robin escapes from the shackles with his baby hands, and runs out of the exploding tower. The next morning in the wreckage, Robin calls his friends back, who join him with open arms. At the premiere of Robin: The Movie, the Titans arrive and unmask Slade, but Slade unleashes the crystal's power to control the other heroes and sends them after the Titans. Robin goes after Slade while the rest of the team leads off the heroes. However, Slade uses his new power to control Robin, and tells him to attack his friends. They show him the rest of the movie they made for him, causing Robin to come to his senses. Slade attempts to fight them with a giant robot, but the team uses a song to take out Slade altogether, while also destroying the crystal, snapping the heroes out of their trance. They all congratulate the Titans for their heroic efforts with Robin admitting that he has learned to be himself. In a mid-credits scene, the Teen Titans from the 2003-2006 series show up on a distorted screen telling the viewers that they "found a way back." In a post-credits scene, the Challengers of the Unknown are still trapped with their leader postulating that they missed the movie. Voice cast * Scott Menville as Robin, the leader of the Teen Titans who utilizes a staff and various weapons to fight crime. ** Jacob Jeffries as Robin's singing voice for the song "My Superhero Movie". * Greg Cipes as Beast Boy, a member of the Teen Titans who has the superpower to shapeshift into different animals. * Khary Payton as Cyborg, the robotized humanoid member who has the power of using weapons from his mechanical body and is also capable of super strength. * Tara Strong as Raven, a half-human, half-demon sorceress who is the daughter of a supremely powerful and dangerous demon named Trigon. She possesses telekinetic abilities. ** Strong also provides the vocal effects of Silkie, Starfire's pet caterpillar who was formerly owned by Killer Moth. * Hynden Walch as Starfire, a Tamaranian princess and a member of the Teen Titans, who has the ability to shoot bright green-colored bolts of ultraviolet energy and green laser beams from her hands and eyes, and is capable of flying faster than light, as well as superhuman strength. * Will Arnett as Slade, a supervillain and Robin's nemesis. * Kristen Bell as Jade Wilson, a famous filmmaker who the Teen Titans try to persuade to make a movie about them. * Nicolas Cage as Superman, a member of the Justice League. * Jimmy Kimmel as Batman, a member of the Justice League and Robin's mentor. ** Nicolas Cage's son Kal-El Cage voices a younger Bruce Wayne. * Halsey as Wonder Woman, a member of the Justice League. * Lil Yachty as Green Lantern, a member of the Justice League who made a reference to the Green Lantern film. * Stan Lee as himself. This was Lee's final animated role during his lifetime, and his first and only appearance in a DC Comics film, before his death in November 2018. * Wil Wheaton as Flash, a member of the Justice League. * Patton Oswalt as Atom, a member of the Justice League. * Eric Bauza as Aquaman, a member of the Justice League. ** Bauza also voices Stan Lee's assistant. * Greg Davies as Balloon Man, a balloon-themed villain. * Joey Cappabianca as Plastic Man, a member of the Justice League. * Meredith Salenger as Supergirl, the cousin of Superman. * Dave Stone as the unidentified Challengers of the Unknown leader * David Kaye as the Alfred trailer announcer ** Kaye also voices the Inside Premiere announcer. * Michael Bolton as Tiger * John DiMaggio as Guard, Synth Skate Voice * Tom Kenny as Machine Voice * Vanessa Marshall as Vault Voice * Phil Morris as D.O.O.M.S.D.A.Y., a streaming device. ** Morris also voices the Red Carpet Announcer * Alexander Polinsky as Control Freak, a media-manipulating enemy of the Teen Titans. * Fred Tatasciore as Jor-El, the late father of Superman. ** Tatasciore also voices a security guard. * James Arnold Taylor as Shia LaBeouf, the actor who was cast as Slade. Production On September 25, 2017, Warner Bros. announced the film and its release date of July 27, 2018, with the show's cast reprising their roles. A month later, the film's title and teaser poster debuted, and it was announced that Will Arnett, who voices Batman in ''The Lego Movie'' franchise, and Kristen Bell had joined the cast. On March 12, 2018, it was announced that musicians Lil Yachty and Halsey were part of the cast, as Green Lantern and Wonder Woman, respectively, with Nicolas Cage revealed as Superman the same day. Cage himself was originally slated to portray Superman in Tim Burton's canceled Superman film, Superman Lives, in the 1990s. Jimmy Kimmel was announced to voice Batman in the film through an extended cut of the trailer. Music The Teen Titans GO! To The Movies soundtrack was released on July 20, 2018. The soundtrack consists of songs that the cast sing throughout the movie and the musical score composed by Jared Faber. # "GO!" - Hynden Walch, Tara Strong, Scott Menville, Khary Payton, Greg Cipes # "My Superhero Movie" - Jacob Jeffries # "Upbeat Inspirational Song About Life" - Michael Bolton, Hynden Walch, Tara Strong, Scott Menville, Khary Payton, Greg Cipes # "Crystals" - David Gemmill, M A E S T R O # "Shenanigans" - Peter Rida Michail, Khary Payton # "GO! (Battle Remix)" - Hynden Walch, Khary Payton, Scott Menville, Tara Strong, Greg Cipes # "GO! (Remix)" - Lil Yachty # "Upbeat Inspirational Song About Life Reprise" - Michael Bolton # "Welcome To Jump City" - Jared Faber # "Balloon Man Invades" - Jared Faber # "Check This Out" - Jared Faber # "This Is Where They Make Movies" - Jared Faber # "Slade Arch Nemesis Suite" - Jared Faber # "Chasing Slade" - Jared Faber # "Slade's Master Plan" - Jared Faber # "Robin Misses The Titans" - Jared Faber # "The Tower Collapses" - Jared Faber # "Titans Save The World Suite" - Jared Faber # "Slade Becomes Giant Robot" - Jared Faber # "Justice League Returns/Saved By Titans" - Jared Faber # "Star Labs/Doomsday Device" - Jared Faber # "Worthy Arch Nemesis" - Jared Faber # "Back To The Future Theme" - Fred Kron Release The film was released in theaters in the United States on July 27, 2018, by Warner Bros. Pictures, followed by a United Kingdom bow a week later. It was released in Australian theaters on September 13, 2018. An early screening was held on June 22 at Vidcon 2018, for both badge members and YouTubers. The film was also shown at the San Diego Comic-Con International on July 20, 2018. The film's theatrical release was preceded by The Late Batsby, a short film based on Lauren Faust's forthcoming DC Super Hero Girls television series. Home media Teen Titans Go! to the Movies was released on digital copy on October 9, 2018 and was released on DVD and Blu-ray on October 30, 2018.https://www.amazon.com/Teen-Titans-Movies-Aaron-Horvath/dp/B07F83JPNZ/ Reception Box office Teen Titans Go! To the Movies has grossed $29.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $22.3 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $52 million, against a production budget of $10 million. In the United States and Canada, Teen Titans Go! To the Movies was released alongside Mission: Impossible – Fallout, and was initially projected to gross around $14 million from 3,188 theaters in its opening weekend, with a chance to go as high as $19 million. However, after making $4.6 million on its first day (including $1 million from Thursday night previews), estimates were lowered to $10 million, and it ended up debuting to $10.5 million, finishing 5th at the box office. Critical response On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 91% based on 121 reviews and an average rating of 7.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Teen Titans Go! To the Movies distills the enduring appeal of its colorful characters into a charmingly light-hearted adventure whose wacky humor fuels its infectious fun -- and belies a surprising level of intelligence." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 69 out of 100 based on reviews from 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. Laura Prudom of IGN gave the film a score of 8/10, calling it a "gleefully unhinged deconstruction of superhero tropes that isn't afraid to take aim at the rest of DC's cinematic roster". Owen Glieberman of Variety said "Teen Titans GO! is fun in a defiantly super way, and that's a recommendation." Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that "Considering the somberness that afflicts so many DC universe releases, the tongue-in-cheek, albeit admittedly juvenile humor of Teen Titans Go! To the Movies should come as a welcome relief to fans." David Betancourt of The Washington Post opined, "Teen Titans Go! To the Movies is a laugh-a-minute ride that hits you with the jokes from the very first frame. From the cute shots at Marvel Studios to the self-deprecating tone on the state of DC movies, you’ll leave the theater with a new set of superhero abs from laughing so hard." Brandon Katz of The New York Observer said that the film is "a fun parody of sorts that gently skewers our superhero obsessed culture, and while there may be one too many gags thrown in there which can get a bit tiresome after awhile, it's an enjoyable movie for both kids and adults." Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com rated the film 3/4 stars, saying "It's not a film designed to break ground or even offer too much social commentary on the role of superheroes in modern culture. It's built with the primary goal of making you laugh and forget your problems for just under 90 minutes, and it does exactly that." GameSpot's Chris Hayner, while finding fault with what he deemed excessive toilet humor and some dragging in the film, said that "In a superhero movie landscape where the world is constantly being destroyed by massive CGI abominations, this is a refreshing change... it doesn't forget how funny and exciting these types of movies can be." Follow-up projects An episode of TTG premiered about a month after the film's release. The episode, titled "Tower Renovation," was about the Titans attempting to rebuild Titans Tower. Warner Bros. announced that a crossover featuring the Titans from both the TTG and original 2003 versions entitled Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans set for release in 2019 was in the works. Accolades References External links * * * * Category:2018 films Category:2018 animated films Category:2010s American animated films Category:2010s animated superhero films Category:2010s action comedy films Category:2010s musical films Category:American films Category:American flash animated films Category:American action comedy films Category:American children's animated comedy films Category:American children's animated fantasy films Category:English-language films Category:Animated musical films Category:Animated films based on animated series Teen Titans Category:Directorial debut films Category:Superhero comedy films Category:Teen superhero films Category:Teen Titans in other media Category:Self-reflexive films Category:Warner Bros. animated films Category:Warner Bros. Animation animated films Category:Warner Bros. films Category:Animated Cyborg (comics) films Category:Animated Robin films Category:Crossover animation Category:Crossover films Category:Mind control in fiction Category:Theatrically released animated superhero films